Hermione couldn't sleep that night. Not because she wasn't tired, but because her mind just didn't seem to shut up. It seemed like an eternity that she laid awake, tossing and turning as she struggled with her thoughts, when in reality she knew it to be just a couple of hours.

No matter how hard she tried to clear her mind or even think of something else, she just couldn't seem to get these thoughts out of her head. Who were the Knights of Walpurgis? Where had she heard of them before?

She got the feeling that she was supposed to know who they were, but every time she felt as though the answer was on the tip of her tongue, she would feel a sharp jolt in her brain, stealing her answer away. At first she thought something might be wrong with her brain, but then she remembered how Renshaw had locked certain memories in the farthest recesses of her mind, at her request.

Could the answers she sought lie within those locked away memories?

There was only one way to find out…

Pushing back her blankets, she conjured up her night robe, slipping it on before climbing out of bed and tip-toeing across the room. The rest of her roommates were all asleep, even Druella, who despite everything that had happened right before, was still able to fall asleep easily enough. All that crying must have tired her out. That was for the best. The girl needed her rest, considering the nerve wracking task she would face come morning.

Sadly, it didn't seem that Hermione would be getting such a luxury that night.

The door let out a loud creak as she pulled it open. She quickly glanced back, to see if anyone had woken up from the sound. For a moment, she thought that Rosaline might have, but she was just turning over in her sleep. Her silk sleep mask was still in place over her eyes.

Leaving the door slightly ajar, so as not to make anymore noise, she crept out and down the passageway.

The Slytherin Common Room was always especially eerie at night, the only bit of light in the room coming from the Black Lake outside their windows. That was one of the main reasons she hadn't snuck out during the night before. As always the Giant Squid was there to watch her as she went. Sometimes she wondered if the squid had anything better to do than to spy on the Slytherins.

Once out of the dormitory, she did a quick check to make sure none of her fellow prefects were patrolling nearby, before casting a quick disillusionment charm on herself and taking off down the corridor.

It didn't take long for her to reach the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Without hesitation, she stepped inside. The classroom itself was dark, but she could see light coming from the professor's personal quarters. Before she could even reach the door, it swung open and Professor Renshaw poked his head out and looked around.

"Hermione, I know you're there. I can smell you."

Lifting the disillusionment, she appeared before him. "I'm sorry for disturbing you, but I need you to unlock those memories for me," she told him. "I think there's something that I've forgotten that I need to remember."

With a sigh, he nodded his head and motioned her in, closing the door behind both of them. There was music playing on a gramophone in the corner of the room, Mozart she believed it was, and a goblet filled with blood sitting on his desk, which he took a big gulp from before grabbing his wand.

"Whenever you're ready."

Just like when she had first come and asked him for help, she sat down and tilted her head back, silently giving him the go ahead. He pointed his wand to her skull and recited an incantation.

Within moments she felt something unlock within her brain, followed soon after by a flood of memories washing over her. At first, it was overwhelming. They were coming so fast that she could hardly make heads or tails of them. After a few moments, they evened out and Hermione was once more able to think rationally.

She was then able to more effectively search her brain for where she heard of the Knights of Walpurgis before.

A scene emerged in her mind's eyes. She could see Harry and herself seated in the library, doing homework together. Harry looked exhausted, as if he was half tempted to use the book in front of him as a pillow. Looking up from her own book, her memory self, which looked much like the current version of herself, leading her to believe that this memory took place in her original sixth year.

"You should ask Dumbledore to give you a bit of a break," Memory-Hermione suggested. "All of these private lessons are wearing you out."

Harry let out a big long yawn. "I know, but we don't have much of a choice. Slughorn won't give us his real memory and so we have to try and search what we have for even the tiniest clues."

Hermione remembered this now. Even then, she had begun to think that Dumbledore was treating Harry rather poorly, not seeming to care for anything but finding a way to defeat Voldemort. Of course, she understood at the time that it was important, but was it really necessary to ask so much of him?

"Have you found anything yet?"

He shook his head. "Not really. Most of what we saw this last time was just about the gang he started back when he was at Hogwarts."

"You mean Voldemort started the Death Eaters when he was still at school?"

"Sort of. They called themselves the Knights of Walpurgis back then. Rather a nasty lot. They were basically his henchmen, doing his bidding for him. Dumbledore believes that they helped him open the Chamber of Secrets."

Hermione had seen all that she needed to and shoved the memory away after that.

She just sat there for a while, staring at nothing in particular with wide-eyed horror. How could she have been so foolish to let this happen? Tom had already formed the Knights of Walpurgis. And what had she done? She ignorantly let it happen and even agreed to join!

To think that this all might have been prevented if only she hadn't locked some of her memories away. She felt horrible about it, as if by doing so she had betrayed Harry… Not only that, but she felt that she had failed in her mission.

"How could he do this? I thought he had changed!" she said on the verge of tears.

Retracting his wand from her head, Professor Renshaw reached out and placed a cold hand on her shoulder. "Calm down and tell me what is wrong."

And so, she recounted to him everything that she knew of Tom's sixth year at Hogwarts and everything that he had done. Professor Renshaw rarely ever let his emotions show, so she was unable to tell whether he was truly as calm as he looked or if he was actually panicking. He just nodded every so often to show that he was listening.

"Do you think he has found the Chamber of Secrets yet?"

She shrugged. "I have noticed a few things, indicating that history is set to repeat itself, but I have no way of knowing for certain."

Nodding his head in understanding, Professor Renshaw began to pace back and forth in front of her.

"All may not be lost yet," he assured her, coming to a sudden halt. "You mentioned that he made you his second in command. That may well just work out in your favor. It would give you inside access on everything that he's planning, allowing you to influence him as you see fit as well."

"Do you really think he'll listen to me?"

He nodded. "I read his mind one day in class, shortly after you showed me the future you came from. You may not think it, but you've made a great impact on that boy. He thinks very highly of you. So much so that he's not willing to part with you... ever... He's even considered asking me to turn you both so that you'll never die."

She was surprised, not so much about the fact that Tom was considering ways of becoming immortal, as she had already suspected that herself, but the fact that Professor Renshaw had gone so far as to read his mind. He sounded like an overprotective dad who was trying to make sure his daughter's boyfriend wasn't going to break her heart.

Nevertheless, he did make a good point. Tom had placed her in a role of authority, above all the others. If they tried to do something she didn't approve of, she had the power to put a stop to it. Tom had listened to her in the past. The fact that his father and grandparents were still alive was proof. Maybe there was still hope.

"Now, I would advise that you return to your dormitory and try to get some rest."

"Yes, Grandfather."

He rolled his eyes, as always, at her insistence on calling him that, but deep down Hermione suspected that he didn't actually mind all that much.


The very next morning, after managing to get a couple of hours sleep, the two girls set out to track Cygnus down, which was by no means necessarily an easy task, considering the fact that he never seemed to stay in one place for too long. Then there was the fact that their schedules clashed. Hermione had classes that neither Druella nor Cygnus had, such as Alchemy, and then Druella and Cygnus had classes that she didn't, like Divination.

After trying and failing to find time throughout the day, they decided that their best bet was to try and get Cygnus alone after classes. The only problem with that was that Cygnus had Quidditch practice right after.

He was the Keeper for the Slytherin team and Abraxas, who happened to be Team Captain, insisted that they practice almost every day. They were getting ready for a big match against the Gryffindor Team at the end of the Quidditch season. Him and the Gryffindor's Team Captain, Minerva McGonagall, had a bitter rivalry going, as they both strove to win the Quidditch Cup for their houses.

When they arrived at the pitch, the Slytherin team were already in the sky, flying circles above their heads, seemingly none-the-wiser to their presence.

"We're never going to get his attention," Druella complained. "We may as well just go back to the castle and wait for him in the common room."

Hermione shook her head. "We'll never be able to get him alone if we do that. Abraxas makes them practice for a full hour, and by the time they get back it'll be time for dinner and then the common room will be crowded with people trying to complete their homework."

"Well, then what do you suppose we do?"

Hermione considered the dilemma for a few moments, weighing their options. The only way she could see of getting him alone for a while was if they could drag him away from practice. However, from what she could see of everyone and their positioning, it seemed that Cygnus was on the opposite side of the pitch, doing loop-the-loops through the hoop. She'd never be able to wave him down.

Then she had an idea...

"Go wait in the changing rooms," she told Druella. "I'm going to try something."

"Good luck," Druella nodded and turned to leave.

No sooner was Druella gone from sight, then she stepped out a bit further onto the pitch. Brandishing her wand, she cast the Patronus Charm, focusing on her very happiest memory; the day she received her Hogwarts Letter. A shimmering silver otter burst forth from the tip of her wand and began prancing around her in circles. She watched the animal with glee for a moment, happy to know that she hadn't lost the ability to cast the particular charm. It had been such a long time since she cast it that she feared she might not be able to cast it effectively.

"It's me, Hermione. I'm so sorry to disrupt your practice, but Druella and I need to talk to you. Meet us in the changing room. Come alone."

The otter hurried off across the pitch with that message for Cygnus, running high up into the sky and out of sight. With that out of the way, she went off to join Druella in the changing room, where they sat down to wait.

Fortunately for them, they didn't have to wait too long, as Cygnus came trudging in soon enough, his hair sticking out in just about every direction from the wind, which he quickly ran his hands through to try and flatten, and his face dripping with sweat. Setting his broom down, he came over to them.

"You wanted to talk to me?" he asked, his eyes focused on Druella. "Are you alright? Hermione mentioned that you seemed rather off yesterday."

Druella nodded her head, refusing to meet his gaze, staring down at her feet instead. She didn't speak for the first while, and so Hermione, thinking that she might try and chicken out, gave her a nudge, motioning for her to answer.

"Do you remember when your mother tried to slip a love potion into your tea?"

He furrowed his brows in confusion. "Of course I do. I tried to kiss one of the house elves. Why do you ask?"

Hermione stifled a laugh. Druella had mentioned the love potion fiasco but she hadn't mentioned that it had made him think he was in love with a house elf. As serious as she knew the situation was, she couldn't help but find the idea funny.

"I-I think she slipped something into mine too before we left for Hogwarts."

Cygnus' eyes darkened, something that they often did when it came to his mother. "What?! Why didn't you tell me sooner? What was it? Did it hurt you?"

She shook her head. "I didn't think of it at the time. She got her house elf to do it, and I didn't think she would try anything on me but…"

Reaching out, he took hold of her arms, pulling her up to her feet. "What did she do to you?" he asked, speaking slowly so as to emphasize each word.

By that point, Druella was trembling again, her eyes brimmed with tears. "I looked it up and I believe she slipped me a fertility potion…"

Cygnus, being a bit slow on the uptake, took a few minutes to process her words before they finally sunk in. His eyes widened alarmingly so.

"You're not…"

She just nodded her head.

Releasing his hold on her, he staggered back a couple steps, colliding back into the cupboards where the team stored their gear. His face had gone as pale as a ghost and he too had started to tremble.

"No… Surely you must be mistaken. That's it… It must have been something else she slipped you… It can't be... I'm too young to be a father!" he muttered.

He was in denial. That much was plain to see. Of course, the fact that he was freaking out, just as Druella had predicted, wasn't helping her any. If anything, it just seemed to make her feel worse, as a steady stream of tears cascaded down her face.

"I'm so sorry, Cygnus," she said, choking back a sob.

When he failed to say anything more, Druella promptly turned and fled from the room. Hermione called after her, but she either didn't hear her or didn't want to hear her. Gritting her teeth, she turned back to Cygnus, who was now seated on the ground in front of the cupboards with his head in his hands.

"Why did she have to do this to us? Why couldn't my mother just give us a bit of time?" He asked no one in particular. "Merlin knows we're not ready to have children yet."

As much as she felt sorry for him, for both of them, being forced into such a situation, that didn't stop her from being angry at him. His wife had just run off crying and he hadn't even noticed. Instead he was just sitting there, wallowing in his own worries!

"I know that. Druella is just as scared as you are, probably even more so, seeing as it's her who's going to actually have the baby. In fact, I bet you anything that she's running to the hospital wing as we speak to get an abortion."

Hearing the word 'abortion', Cygnus lifted his head. "Wait, what?"

"Who do you think it was that convinced her to come out here and tell you in the first place? She was convinced that you would freak out, which you did, and thought it might be better to just get an abortion and pretend it never happened."

He was back up on his feet faster than you could say Quidditch, a sudden urgency taking up residence in him. He glanced in the direction of the pitch and then back in the direction that Druella had fled. After a few moments of internal struggle glancing back and forth, he finally made up his mind and started after her.

Hermione followed shortly after, thanking Merlin that he had finally come to his senses.

"Abraxas is gonna throw a fit at me for ditching practice, but this is more important. I need to find my wife before it's too late!"


The first official meeting of the Knights of Walpurgis took place a month later upon the arrival of the foreign exchange students, who just so happened to all be old friends of Abraxas, wishing to join Tom and his cause. Apparently they had been making plans for this over the summer without her even knowing.

On the day of their arrival, the whole school was engulfed in an uproar of intrigue. Everyone wanted to know who these students were, how long they would be staying, and among the female population, whether or not they were handsome. It was all anyone could talk about for the entire day.

Hermione knew a bit more than the rest, having learned one of their names from Rosaline, and based off of the fact that they were all friends with Abraxas, they were sure to all be purebloods, but still she had to admit that she was a bit curious herself. Who were these new members? Would she know any of them? Had any of them still been around back in 1997? Or perhaps they would all be like Raphael, being related to future death eaters she had known of?

After a long day of speculating, they finally got their first glimpse at them at supper. They had just started eating when Headmaster Dippet rose to make an announcement.

"As I'm sure you are all well aware, we have been presented with the privilege of playing host to a group of exchange students from our sister schools, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute for Magical Learning," he declared in a loud clear voice.

Every head in the room turned towards the door as three boys, looking to be close to them in age, strode into the Great Hall. Two of them were dressed in the light blue silk uniforms of Beauxbatons and the other dressed in the fur-lined, blood red uniform of Durmstrang. Many of the girls sighed dreamily, batting their eyelashes as the boys passed in hopes that one of them might notice them, for they were all quite handsome.

Hermione watched them pass as well, not to try and catch their attention as the others were, but to see if she could identify them. The first boy, dressed in blue, looked somewhat familiar with his golden blonde hair that glistened in the candlelight, but she couldn't put a name to him. The second boy, also in blue, she assumed to be Raphael Lestrange, based off of the fact that he and Rosaline were waving to one another as well as the resemblance he bore to his cousin Romulus.

And the last boy, dressed in red, was handsome in a rugged sort of way with shaggy dark hair, a jaw lined with stubble and eyes the color of Firewhisky. There was something about his face that definitely struck her as familiar. She was convinced that she had seen it before, but again, was at a loss for his name.

Supper passed quickly enough, though she didn't get a chance to speak with the new boys or even hear their names. It didn't bother Hermione too much though, as she knew she would learn their names soon enough at the meeting.

While most of them went on ahead to their meeting place, which just so happened to be the Room of Requirement, Abraxas stayed behind to wait for his foreign friends so that he could show them where to go.

The Room of Requirement, which had once been hers and Tom's secret spot, had taken the shape of a medieval royal court, consisting of a grand hall lined with tall columns on either side and a raised platform at the very end where two identical thrones of gold and green velvet were set. Knowing Tom, she didn't even need to ask who they were meant for.

With a bit of time to spare, they each went off to explore their new headquarters.

"It really is beautiful," Druella remarked, coming over to walk beside her. "It fits well with the whole knights theme as well."

Hermione nodded her head, smiling over at her friend. Her and Druella had become considerably closer over the last month, seeing as she was basically the only person outside of herself and Cygnus that knew she was pregnant. After discussing it a bit more rationally, the two of them had reluctantly decided that they were going to keep it.

She had informed Madam Vervain, who she had sworn to secrecy until further notice, but Madam Vervain had warned her that she would only have a couple months at best before she began to show and inevitably had to leave school, as the school didn't support students who fell pregnant, married or unmarried. Still, Druella was determined to remain in school for as long as she could.

Two months along now, Druella was starting to develop a bit of a bulge in her belly, but she was determined to hide it for as long as she could, using a bit of magic to assist her in the process. Of course, as with anyone who was keeping a secret, it left her rather uneasy, constantly checking to see if anyone was looking at her, and when they were getting ready for bed, she would drag Hermione into the bathroom and stand sideways in front of the mirror, asking her if her belly had gotten bigger or if it was noticeable.

Cygnus, on the other hand, seemed to be at war with himself, caught between wanting to keep a close, watchful eye on her and trying to forget that she was pregnant with his child in the first place.

"And it's so nice to see my cousin again. I haven't seen Evan in years," Druella added.

"Cousin? You mean the blonde one?"

Druella nodded her head.

Well, that would certainly explain why she found him familiar. Now that she knew they were related, she could see that they did share a resemblance.

"What about the Durmstrang boy? Do you know who he is?"

Druella shook her head. "No, I don't know him."

Just then, there came a knock on the door, alerting them that the others had arrived. Everyone hurried into position, Druella and Cygnus going to stand on one side of the platform with Rosaline and Thorus Nott and, while Tom went and took his seat on one of the thrones, motioning Hermione over to take her place on the one next to him.

No sooner had she done so, then the door swung open and in came Abraxas, leading the three boys to the other end of the hall where Abraxas then went to stand on the other side of the platform with his girlfriend Hera Carrow and Milton Mulciber, leaving their guests to stand before them all.

Hermione did her best to sit up nice and tall, giving off an impression of confidence and elegance, but she wasn't sure how well she achieved that. She wasn't used to being considered a queen. The idea of other people seeing her as better than them made her uncomfortable.

"You have travelled far to join us, and for that I applaud you," Tom said, sounding very much like a ruler. In a way, it was a little off-putting, but at the same time, she also couldn't help but think that it made him sound even more attractive. "Abraxas has told me of your interest in my cause."

"He says zat you have a deep respect and appreciation towards ze old traditions of us purebloods and zat you wish to bring zem back into practice," Raphael spoke up. "I am proud to support such a cause."

The other two nodded their heads in agreement.

Tom then turned to her. "Forgive me, I don't believe I've introduced you. This is my queen and equal in terms of power, Hermione Granger."

One by one they came forward to kiss her hand, which was incredibly discomforting, but she forced herself to go along with it for the sake of appearances. After they had done so, they would each tell her their names. Of course, she already knew that the two French boys were Evan Rosier and Raphael Lestrange.

When it came time for the Durmstrang boy to kiss her hand, he lingered longer than the rest, giving her a discreet yet equally flirtatious wink.

"It pleasurrre to meet you, my lady" he spoke with a rich Russian accent. "I Antonin Dolohov, and I look forrrvarrrd to serrrving you."

Hermione felt her blood run cold. Her eyes widened as images of the Battle of the Department of Mysteries filled her brain. She remembered being grabbed by a rugged older wizard, heavily aged, which she had presumed to be the effects of so many years spent in Azkaban. She remembered the sharp pain in her chest as he sent a curse her way.

Antonin Dolohov…

No wonder she recognized his face. She was pretty sure she would recognize him anywhere, young or old. Maybe it was just the Slytherin part of her coming out, but the thought of using her elevated positioning to humiliate him as revenge came to mind, but she forced the urge back for the time being, reminding herself that this was supposedly the first time she had met him and that he hadn't actually done anything to her yet.

Once the introductions were all made, Tom could move on to explain what he had planned.

"As you all know, Grindelwald and his acolytes have been running amuck all across Europe, and while I do agree with some of his ideas, I don't agree with his methods," Tom began. "He claims that he wants a world in which wizards would be free to be themselves, and yet his followers kill our own kind the same as they kill muggles."

That much Hermione could agree with. His acolytes didn't care whether you were magical or non-magical. If someone got in their way, they exterminated them without so much as a second thought. She had to admit that she was curious as to where he was going with this.

"My plan is to take him down, but it will require us to gather much more strength and power than we currently have, for you see, I have recently discovered that Grindelwald is in possession of the Elder Wand."

Gasps echoed throughout the hall at this bit of information. Everyone knew of the Elder Wand, a legendary wand with power unlike any other wand.

In Hermione's original time, Dumbledore had been it's master, having taken it as his own when he defeated Grindelwald. She admittedly didn't know what to think of this plan. If Tom succeeded in defeating Grindelwald instead of Dumbledore… What exactly would that mean? Would it be a change for the better or for the worse?

"How do you intend to accomplish ziss?" asked Evan.

"That is exactly where the three of you come in. I have heard that both of your schools teach magic differently. Durmstrang in particular is rumored to teach spells that Hogwarts would never dream of teaching," Tom explained. "As prefects, Hermione and I have access to the restricted section in our library, where I have already unearthed many forgotten yet insanely powerful pieces of magic that are sure to aid us in our task."

"While uncustomarrry to sharrre ourrr vays vith zose outside Durmstrang, I vill make exception zis once," Dolohov said. "What headmaster doesn't know, vont hurrrt him."

It seemed that everyone was in agreement to this plan. Everyone except Hermione, that was…

With that, the meeting came to an end, though Tom made them all make a binding vow of silence, not to tell anyone else about their plans. The only ones who were exempt from making this vow were Tom himself and Hermione.

Once that was done, everyone broke off into groups to share what ideas they had with one another. Raphael suggested that they should learn both Occlumency as well as Legilimency, so that no one would be able to penetrate their minds. Abraxas agreed that this would be a good idea, suggesting that maybe he could read his father's thoughts and see what he knew about Grindelwald and his activity.

"What do you think, Hermione?" Tom asked, turning to face her. "Is this plan to your satisfaction? You were the one who inspired it, after all."

"What do you mean I inspired it?"

"You've disliked Grindelwald from the very beginning. Don't think I never noticed how tense you became every time I so much as mentioned his name."

She hadn't realized that he was paying so much attention to her.

"I'll admit that I'm not particularly fond of him, but I never once thought of taking him down myself."

The idea of Tom defeating Grindelwald wasn't what concerned her, nor was it that she didn't think he could do it. If anyone could succeed in such a task, aside from maybe Dumbledore, it was him. What worried her was what would become of Tom after he defeated Grindelwald and took the Elder Wand as his own, as she assumed he would. The wand had a bloody history, driving many a wizard mad with power.

"What do you intend to do with the Elder Wand once you take it?"

"Don't worry, Hermione, I don't intend to let myself become like Emeric the Evil," he assured her. "I intend to use it to make the changes we want in the wizarding world, upholding the old wizarding traditions while still making sure that those of muggle parentage are not only accepted but better educated about our world before they arrive at Hogwarts."

His idea sounded good… almost too good…

She hoped that she wasn't making a terrible mistake by doing so, but she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and trust him for the time being. Should she ever find that he had strayed from this plan… Well, she wasn't entirely sure what she would do… She would have to do some research of her own in the restricted section to see if there was anything that she would be able to do to stop him.

"Alright, Tom. I'll agree with this plan."

With a satisfied smirk, he leaned over and kissed her.

"I promise, I won't let you down."